Description of the Prior Art
Valve assemblies for permitting inflation of a tubeless vehicle tire through its mounting rim are well known in the prior art. They have consisted generally of a threaded cylindrical stem member receiving a valve core and generally fabricated from a metal such as brass, and a resilient grommet adapted to be inserted in a bore formed through the mounting rim. A seal between the brass stem and the grommet has been effected by chemically bonding the grommet to the stem. It is in the creation of this sealing interface that the chief disadvantages of the prior art valve assemblies has been noted. To bond the stem and grommet together great care must be taken in the cleaning, handling and surface treatment of the valve stem, particularly where it is formed from brass. In spite of the attention given to these matters in the industry an undesirably high rate of scrappage due to ineffective bonds has been experienced.
Also known in the prior art are valve assemblies configured for inflation of devices other than tires which effect a seal between a stem member and a grommet through a crimped mechanical connection. One example of such a valve is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,731. Since the crimping must be accomplished at the time of assembly, the cost to manufacture such a device in high volume is unacceptably high.